The End of the World

[Categories: Music]

Macross Frontier Soundtrack 2: Nyan TRA

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross Frontier, Yoko Kanno]

The second Macross Plus OST album was a bit more of a mixed bag than the first, with fewer standout tracks and more oddities. Not so with the second LP-length outing for Frontier though: this disc is every bit as good as its predecessor, and possibly of even higher quality if I make allowances for the songs growing on me in the fullness of time. The running order seems to place vocal tracks and instrumentals alternately, which prevents it getting repetitive and gives an emotional break or ‘reset’ between the lyrical flagship-type songs and the instrumental BGM ones.

The proceedings kick off as before in dramatic style with an orchestral instrumental track, this time with Prologue F; it’s less than two minutes long but sets the mood wonderfully. The Jpop side of Frontier makes itself felt immediately afterwards with Northern Cross, which launches itself into a fuzzy, strident electric guitar, a fast-paced beat with May’n’s vocals picking up the pace. It’s a heady blend of (synthesised?) orchestral strings, frantic drums and six-string riffery; as a (re)introduction to the vocal aspect of the score, it’s a sound choice.

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[Categories: Music]

Macross Frontier soundtrack 1: delicious deculture

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross Frontier, Yoko Kanno]

Macross Frontier is something of a full circle trip for Yoko Kanno. Macross Plus, along with its two OST albums, was my introduction to both her work and that of Kawamori’s Macross franchise, so the news that the two of them would be working together again was what made me so enthusiastic about this series. It’s inevitable that comparisons will be drawn but the atmospherics of the two shows are so different that the scores inevitably have their own distinct sound and feel: Plus was very grown-up and cinematic while Frontier is more fun and eager to revel in the nostalgia of the franchise as a whole. Because of this, the Frontier soundtrack has a stronger pop slant as well as the orchestral numbers; in my reviews of the series so far I was reluctant to place the Frontier score alongside its illustrious predecessor but saying I’ve started to change my stance on that a bit is an understatement. I might go as far importing it in fact, unless Beez pick up the license and release it with English language packaging (which would consequentially make me a happier if slightly poorer man).

[9 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

GitS SAC OST 2

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Ghost in the Shell, Yoko Kanno]

The second helping of Yoko Kanno’s music written for the GitS: SAC series proves to be of equal quality alongside the first album, if slightly different in style and atmosphere. Once again it’s a typically Kanno-esque mixture of styles and genres that borrow from numerous times and cultures; incidentally it makes for excellent driving music!

Cyberbird starts the record off at a brisk pace and features ethereal-sounding vocal harmonies from that mysterious Gabriela Robin to give it that almost magical quality that Kanno’s vocal tracks often show. It doesn’t so much say anything by itself as set up a feel for what the album sets out to achieve; the atmosphere that a soundtrack provides is an important factor in how effective I consider it to be but fortunately this tune also sounds great taken out of context and played on its own. The full version of the second season opener Rise is featured here too, expanding the TV-sized arrangement with additional verses and a guitar-driven breakdown/middle eight section. It lacks that stratospheric vibe of Inner Universe but the pulsating beat makes it sound more insistent and Origa’s superb vocals give a great sense of continuity.

[2 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

Gasaraki OST

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Gasaraki]

Yep, it’s that CD review that I was promising y’all for weeks.

Gasaraki was a series of great maturity, seriousness and sophistication; the accompanying soundtrack recreates these features accordingly, helped in no small part by the fact that the songwriting talent behind it was Kuniaki Haishima, who also worked on Monster and Spriggan. The album is bookended by the op and end themes, which is perhaps strangely not a pattern always observed in OST track listings. The op theme, Message #9, is a superb tune; arguably the reason why I became interested in the show in the first place. The vocal performance is reminiscent of Alison Goldfrapp or Portishead with samples of Noh performances and military-style snare drums that drift in along with the synthesised beats to give one of my all-time opening themes. The album version is even a longer edit than that used in the TV’s opening sequence too, which is a nice touch when watching successive episodes makes the shorter version somewhat overly-familiar. Love Song is an appropriately relaxing ending which is a good thing too considering some of the content on offer here. The snaking fretless bass blends well with the primeval-sounding percussion and Akino Arai (the voice behind Macross Plus’ Sharon Apple, no less!) on hand to provide the vocals that offer a really pleasant contrast.

[2 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

Be Human OST

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Ghost in the Shell, Yoko Kanno]

“There’s no danger, we’re just killing time again why they order up new parts…”

This post’s song quote is from a modern concept album which, coincidentally, is I suppose a fair way of describing Be Human, the GitS SAC soundtrack album that revolves around the idea of, well, ‘being human’. The tachikomas of the SAC, like Ray Kurzweil who indirectly inspired the lyrics above, were prone to discussing what it means to be human in a world of computers and AI - a recurring theme of the series that forms the concept of this record. Basically, it’s a concept album that’s dedicated to the endearing little ‘think tanks’ - if it hadn’t been penned by Ms Kanno I probably would have given it a go on that reason alone.

[2 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

End of Evangelion OST

Posted by Martin  

Just a break from the usual schedule…since I’ve been doing nothing but fansubs lately.

You might not think that the melodramatic, apocalyptic themes of EoE would make for pleasant listening when contained in a CD but the OST is surprisingly enjoyable and varied. It’s a mostly orchestral effort from Shiro Sagisu with a couple of vocal numbers and specially-recorded versions of two well-known Bach pieces. The album’s running order is more or less the same as that of the film itself: those who have seen EoE will be able to relate individual songs to scenes in the movie in chronological order. This does present one distinct problem, though. I can’t help but connect the songs to the film, with all the thoughts and feelings that went with it. As a result I found myself thinking “Hey, this is the scene where…” during several of the tracks.

[8 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

GitS SAC OST +

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Ghost in the Shell, Yoko Kanno]

No updates for ages and all I have to offer is another helping of fanboy raving? Yep. It’s time for me to highlight another Yoko Kanno album…

One thing that the SAC always represented for me was the fusion of the natural and mechanical, old and new, recognisable and strange. Appropriately enough, that theme is carried over in the music that accompanies the show - traditional instrumentation sits alongside samples and other electronic sounds, showing perhaps her broadest range of styles to date. The opening tune, Run Rabbit Junk, blasts out of the speakers with an industrial drumbeat and distorted guitars, Yakitori following hot on its heels as an instrumental guitar jam. Taken on their own, this could be a rock album - a far cry from the orchestral pieces of Macross Plus. Stamina Rose however falls more into the realms of dance or trance with its hypnotic beat and ethereal chanting.

[2 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

Macross Plus OST II

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross, Yoko Kanno]

The second half of the Macross Plus soundtrack is much more varied in style than the first, although inevitably this means that it is less consistent in quality. At least, unlike its predecessor, this CD is still available outside of Japan without going to too much trouble with importing.

Idol Talk is an impressive way to open the album, being lifted straight from that legendary Sharon Apple concert scene. Imagine early Madonna fast-forwarded fifty years and you’d be halfway to imagining what a superlative piece of J-pop this song is: an insistent synthesised drumbeat mixes with electronic samples and Akino Arai’s sweet, seductive vocal delivery that really sounds like the future of music.

[2 Comments]

[Categories: Music]

Macross Plus OST 1

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross, Yoko Kanno]

One of the most memorable aspects of Macross Plus is the music: a heady mixture of the orchestral, electronic and ambient. This is the first in what I hope will be a series of editorials drawing attention to the songwriter who created it: Yoko Kanno.

Although her scores for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand-alone Complex are the most well-known Macross Plus has always had a special place in my appreciation of anime soundtracks since it was the first work of hers that I’d heard. Coincidentally, it was the first anime soundtrack she’d written - quite an amazing fact when you’ve given it a listen.

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